Skip to main content

Kids in Cars: from curious to furious during the summer road trip

Kids start to complain about the amount of time in a car after two 2 and 23 minutes of driving, according to research in the UK. Around that time, the driver will hear from the back seat the first of a long list of complaints: “Are we nearly there yet?” And by 2 hours and 37 minutes, angry rows have broken out. These squabbles are almost inevitable, noted the study from the UK’s Highways England. Nearly 80% of families say kids quarrel during long-distance summer trips. Many parents said this ha
August 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Here at last, and about time, too.
Kids start to complain about the amount of time in a car after two 2 and 23 minutes of driving, according to research in the UK.

Around that time, the driver will hear from the back seat the first of a long list of complaints: “Are we nearly there yet?”

And by 2 hours and 37 minutes, angry rows have broken out.

These squabbles are almost inevitable, noted the study from the UK’s Highways England. Nearly 80% of families say kids quarrel during long-distance summer trips.

Many parents said this happens within the first hour of a trip. For that reason, Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Highways England’s director of customer operations and a father of four, urged driving dads and moms to take a break sooner rather than later.

“A decent break should help stop kids being bored and hopefully prevent arguments from stressing your family before you’ve reached your destination,” he said. “Our survey suggests parents should plan a break around two hours in, to help young passengers cope with the boredom.”

In total, 291 drivers completed the online survey, which showed the average summer journey would last 3 hours and 49 minutes.

Despite the length of the journey, 55% of drivers said they didn’t plan to take any breaks during the trip, other than quick toilet stops.

Around a quarter of respondents said their summer journey would take more than 5 hours and 16% said they planned to travel non-stop.

“Drivers who plan their trips tend to have better journeys,” said Sheldon-Wilson.

“They factor in time for rest stops, so the driver can re-focus and the kids don’t get bored. They also spend time choosing the best route – rather than blindly picking the fastest option in their satellite navigation system, only to find it’s anything but.”

Related Content

  • First ever Plantworx show hailed a success after attracting over 11,000 visitors
    May 21, 2013
    The debut PLANTWORX construction equipment exhibition at Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire, central England, has been hailed a success after attracting more than 11,500 visitors over the course of the three-day event. While the British weather was true to form with torrential rain for the best part of two days, serious buyers were out in in their droves. PLANTWORX also made National TV on the morning of day one (May 14 2013) – with BBC Breakfast News broadcasting live from the show, interviewing PLANTWORX or
  • Testing: new tech, old problems and business moves
    August 21, 2020
    In this issue’s materials testing news, there’s a glimpse of how artificial intelligence could improve quality and efficiency in concrete construction, we look at what works best for fixing cracks and two established equipment manufacturers change hands.
  • Research shows that many UK drivers have uncorrected vision
    November 9, 2012
    A new report commissioned by insurance firm RSA reveals that a high percentage of drivers get behind the wheel despite having defective vision that is not corrected. The study shows that thousands of accidents can be attributed to poor driver vision. Estimates suggest that up 2,900 casualties could be attributed to crashes caused by drivers with uncorrected vision and that this could cost in the region of €41.2 million (£33 million)/year in terms of lost economic activity and emergency crew callouts. Resear
  • Britain’s local roads face severe degradation warns National Audit Office
    November 2, 2012
    The British government’s decision to cut back hard on its highways maintenance spending plans will severely degrade the quality of local roads across the UK and risk driving up the long-term costs for the country’s hard-pressed local authorities, the National Audit Office has warned in a new report out this month entitled “Funding for local transport.” The NAO has also told the UK’s ministers that they must be much clearer about who they think should take forward the decision-making process once the devolut